Pokémon Z Could Be The Definitive Kalos Experience

4 weeks ago 23

Published Mar 25, 2026, 4:12 PM EDT

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It's easy to see why so many people still love Pokémon X and Y. Kalos is a fascinating region, the Pokémon selection was great, and it even warranted a spinoff, Pokémon Legends: Z-A​​​​​.

Pokémon Z's English Release Has Fans Hyped

It's Out On March 30

Ash's Kalos team of Greninja, Hawlucha, Talonflame, and Noivern with Pikachu pointing as something orange glows offscreen.

With its latest Spanish-language version releasing earlier this year, Pokémon Z was crafted by EricLostie, and is set 300 years before the events of Pokémon X/Y. It's a prequel featuring the great war storyline that plagued the Kalos region, with ripples that are still felt in the narrative to this day.

It introduces new characters, professors, rivals, villains, regional forms, and new Fakémon, as well as fan-made Mega Evolutions. Here's the synopsis to provide some background: "A long time ago, the Pokemon world was on the brink of destruction due to a fierce war. King Aster Zephyr built a mysterious machine capable of bringing life back to the fallen. Countless humans and Pokemon perished, yet the war showed no signs of ending. Driven by anger and desperation, the king modified his creation and transformed it into a devastating weapon of war. Much of the truth has been lost to history… This is the story of how it all happened… Kalos, 300 years ago."

Fans have been wanting to get their hands on this game for a while, but now we know it'll get an English-language version very soon. As of this week, we have the latest update from Raizen regarding Pokémon Z's English release: "The complete English version of Pokémon Z will be released on March 30! Hope everyone's ready for an EricLostie Kalos Masterpiece, and big thanks to @Eric_Lostie for allowing me to translate it. Translation has been looked over and images also translated, giving myself these last few days to look over it again and make sure things didn't slip through. Thank you all for your patience!"

The folks who have already played it before the English translation have been raving about Pokémon Z, and it's perfect timing for it to come out so soon. We're in a resplendent era of Pokémon fan games right now.

Sooner Or Later We'll Get A Remake

Greninja enters the final round of the Kalos League.

We haven't seen the last of Kalos, or its generation of Pokémon. Game Freak and many other entities that work in the realm of the franchise have put them all over their creations, and Greninja itself is still one of the most popular starters around.

If you're a Pokémon fan and haven't played X and Y yet, you're missing out. If you can play them on accessible hardware, they're worth experiencing.

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Released October 12, 2023

ESRB e

Developer(s) Game Freak

Engine Unreal Engine

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